PREP0002778 NCCoE Community Profile Efforts Undergraduate Research Assistant

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0002778

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

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NCCoE Community Profile Efforts Undergraduate Research Assistant

The NCCoE is looking to bring a student on board who is motivated to contribute to the mission of NCCoE “to accelerate the adoption of secure cybersecurity technologies”. While prior experience is not an absolute requirement, students should be willing to embrace the NCCoE mission and demonstrate an aptitude for learning and developing to be successful. The student will work with a mentor and will be integrated into the activities undertaken by the NCCoE Community Profile team. The student will conduct research on specific sectors where a gap exists for Community Profiles and determine methods/solutions for managing Community Profiles efforts. The final output will be for the student to create a research poster of work. The student will be assigned project tasks based on qualifications or interests and will be able to recommend and possibly pursue additional project areas of interest. Students are also encouraged to consider using this project-based learning experience as the focus of undergraduate research projects and/or other academic or research requirements for their degree. The student shall be expected to come in person to NIST Gaithersburg and NCCoE Rockville for meetings and trainings, however, will be able to telework on a case-by-case basis. The student shall work with the mentor on schedule and identify where he/she has a conflict with their schedule.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Conducting research on specific sectors where a gap exists for Community Profiles.
• Familiarity with NIST and relevant cybersecurity/privacy frameworks, guidance, and industry best practices.
• Determining methods and solutions for managing and tracking Community Profiles progress, status, and next steps.
• Reviewing website pages to ensure they remain up to date and assisting with getting content over to the appropriate team for posting.
• Assisting with the development of slide decks for Community Profile and Framework Resource Center presentations.
• Presenting results at internal meetings, and occasional meetings with external stakeholders.
• Developing strategies on ways to build and increase the Community of Interest in particular work.
• Exploring tools/technologies that can be utilized to adopt Community Profiles.
  At the end of the program, it is required to create and present a research poster of work deliverables.

Desired Qualifications:

• While there is a preference for an undergraduate student majoring in a technical discipline including computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, and information systems, this opportunity is open to undergraduate students from a variety of different related academic disciplines including education, business, public policy, information studies, law, criminal justice, and more.
• Ability to conduct research on existing and new programs, projects, and initiatives and provide a synthesis of research that informs findings and recommendations.
• Must be able to manage work time properly.
• Familiarity with technology tools for communication, collaboration, and research.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to effectively communicate in verbal and written form.
• Ability to apply critical thinking and invoke curiosity to address challenges and opportunities in cybersecurity and privacy.
• This position is open to undergraduate students at Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Other Details:

• Part-time: the participant is expected to work 10-15 hours per week.
• Location: hybrid - the participant will work both at the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus and telework.
• Duration: this is an eight-month position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds.
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Nakia R. Grayson (nakia.grayson@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use the information you submit for the purpose stated.